Birgit Nilsson

Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a Swedish dramatic soprano. She was best known for her singing in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her voice is said to have been very powerful with very good clarity in the upper register.

 Biography 

 Early life 
Birgit Nilsson was born on a farm at Västra Karup in Skåne. It was  north of Malmö. Her parents were Nils Svensson and Justina Svensson (née Paulsson). When she was three years old, she began singing melodies on a toy piano her mother bought for her. She once said that she could sing before she could walk. she also said, "I even sang in my dreams". Her talent at singing was first noticed in her church choir. A choirmaster near her home heard her sing and toldher to take voice lessons.

She studied with Ragnar Blennow in Åstorp for six months to be ready for an audition at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm. At the audition, she came in first out of a group of 47 singers. She was given the Christina Nilsson scholarship. She considered herself self-taught. In 1981, she told an interviewer that  "The best teacher is the stage. You walk out onto it, and you have to learn to project." She did not like her early instruction. She said that she was successful because of the native talent. "My first voice teacher almost killed me ... [T]he second was almost as bad."

 Death 
Nilsson died on 25 December 2005 at her home near Kristianstad in Skåne. She was aged 87. No cause of death was released. She was survived by her husband Bertil Niklasson (died March 2007), a veterinary surgeon whom she had met on a train and married in 1948. They had no children.

 Honours and awards 

 1954 Royal Court Singer (Swedish: Hovsångerska), Stockholm, SwedenUnless otherwise indicated, this section is sourced from 
 1958 Gold Medal, Teatro Liceo, Barcelona, Spain
 1960 50x50px  Royal medal Litteris et Artibus
 1960 Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Stockholm
 1966 Sonning Award, Denmark
 1967 Gold Medal For the Promotion of the Art of Music (Swedish: För tonkonstens främjande) of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Stockholm
 1968 Austrian Kammersängerin in 1968
 1968 Honorary Member of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria
 1970 Honorary doctorate from Merrimack College, Andover, Mass. USA
 1970 Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, London, England
 1970 Bavarian Kammersängerin, Munich, Germany
 1972 50x50px  Royal medal Ingenio et Arti
 1974 50x50px  Commander First Class of the Order of Vasa
 1975 50x50px  Commander First Class of the Order of St. Olav
 1981 Gold medal of the Royal Opera Stockholm (Swedish: Kungliga Operan), Stockholm
 1981 50x50px  Illis Quorum gold medal, 18th grade with chain
 1982 Honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, New York City
 1982 Honorary doctorate from Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA
 1982 Swedish-American of the Year Award, New York City
 1988 50x50px  Cross of Merit First Class of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit, Land of Lower Saxony
 1991 50x50px  Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres
 1993 Royal Opera House Silver Medal for 25-year's service as a Guest Artist, London, England
 1994 Award of the Sweden–America Foundation (Swedish: Sverige-Amerikastiftelsen), New York City
 1997 Honorary doctorate of the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland
 1999 Honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna, Austria
 2012 Gramophone's Hall of Fame in 2012

 References 

 Sources 

 Nilsson, Birgit, My Memoirs in Pictures, translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal, Garden City: Doubleday, 1981; .
 Nilsson, Birgit, Mina minnesbilder, Stockholm: Bonnier, 1977; 
 Nilsson, Birgit, La Nilsson, Stockholm: Fischer, 1995; .
 "Birgit Nilsson, Soprano Legend Who Tamed Wagner" by Bernard Holland, The New York Times (12 January 2006)
 "Så höll han allt hemligt", ('So he kept everything secret'), [on why Nilsson's death was kept a secret for 16 days] by Pelle Tagesson, Aftonbladet (13 January 2006)
 Blum, David, "The Farm Girl and the Stones", chapter 5 in David Blum, Quintet, Five Journeys toward Musical Fulfillment (Cornell University Press, 1999).

 Other websites 
General

 The Birgit Nilsson official website
 Birgit Nilsson Prize

Audio

  (video)
  (video)
  in a recording session for Solti's Ring (video)

Category:1918 births
Category:2005 deaths
Category:Swedish singers
Category:Opera singers
Category:Sopranos